Mitch Malloy with Van Halen @ 5150 Studios 1996 - Panama

In 1996 (Sorry for the video typo, not 1998...time flies!), Mitch Malloy auditioned for Van Halen by recording a few tracks at 5150 studios with Eddie, Alex and Michael Anthony. His joining VH as replacement for Sammy Hagar was overridden by then manager Ray Danniels, who wanted his boy Gary Cherone in. The band when twith Cherone. But what would could have been? Have a listen to this live studio demo for the very first time - exclusive to MelodicRock.com. Mitch Malloy is still hard at work and will release his new album "Shine On" at the end of this month at Firefest UK and then via aorheaven.com and www.mitchmalloy.com plus iTunes worldwide. Mitch told me exclusively of his day at 5150: "A guy who worked for their management at the time used to be my road manager and he kept calling me and telling me they were going to fire Sammy and that I was going to be the next singer in Van Halen and he was calling and calling and finally I got annoyed by this and told him to stop and that I didn't think I was a good fit in VH and that if he was serious he should have Ed call me. A week later Desmond Child calls me and says he has just left Ed's house and was writing with them and that they were talking about me and that they were watching my "Anything At All" video, and that he told them that I was perfect for them, and that they would be lucky to get me, and before I knew it, I was on a plane to LA. Ed did call, a bunch of times. He was great." Mitch recorded with the band - Panama, Ain't Talking 'bout Love, Why Can't This Be Love, Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do), Jump. "It was very surreal. It was pretty cool. Valerie was very nice to me and Wolfy and I had a great connection. He just took to me right away. Ed was very taken with that as I recall, he told me I must be the guy cause his son loved me. It was cool. It was very nice. Ed is really a great guy, and so is Al and Mike. Ed was treating me like I was his best friend, his little brother. He still does most of the time. I miss him at the moment. I have not talked to him in a while. I hope he is okay. He was very encouraging on this new record. I sent him You Lift Me, It's About Love, and Draw The Line and he called me while he was still listening to it and was very very excited and saying things that I couldn't believe. I can't really repeat them here without sounding like a total egotistic ass, so I will just say, he was very flattering. I hung up and yelled at the top of my voice. That felt way better than when he told me I was in the band. I felt like he accepted me as a peer when he like my music."

Added 19 Oct 2026